The Koenigsegg Agera One:1 was just unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, and is highly important for the automotive world because it achieves a power-to-weight ratio of 1. The world's first Megacar got me thinking, what if every car, your car, had a power to weight ratio of 1?

There are two ways to go about imagining a car's change in power-to-weight: either you reduce the weight, or you increase the power (assuming metric hp=bhp, to make things easier). Let's start with a few ordinary cars...

Advertisement

BMW 3-Series

Standard:

power: 180 hp 2.0L hp I4

curb weight: 3,410 lbs (1,546 kg)

With Power-to-Weight Ratio of 1:

Increase power to: 1,546 hp

or

Reduce curb weight to: 397 lbs (180 kg)

Toyota Camry

Standard:

power: 178 hp 2.5L I4

curb weight: 3,190 lbs (1,446 kg)

With Power-to-Weight Ratio of 1:

Increase power to: 1,446 hp

or

Reduce curb weight to: 392 lbs (178 kg)

Ford F-150

Standard:

power: 365 hp 3.5L V6

curb weight: 4,685 lbs (2,125 kg)

With Power-to-Weight Ratio of 1:

Increase power to: 2,125 hp

or

Reduce curb weight to: 805 lbs (365 kg)

Fiat 500

Standard:

power: 101 hp 1.4L I4

curb weight: 2,363 lbs (1,071 kg)

With Power-to-Weight Ratio of 1:

Increase power to: 1,071 hp

or

Reduce curb weight to: 223 lbs (101 kg)

Just Imagine being able to bench-press a Fiat 500.

Those were ordinary cars, and you should expect those adjusted numbers to seem a bit outrageous. The cars below are considered to be incredibly fast for most of us, and they should be closer to a power-to-weight ratio of 1.

Chevrolet Corvette (C7)

Standard:

power: 455hp 6.2L V8

curb weight: 3,298 lbs (1,496 kg)

With Power-to-Weight Ratio of 1:

Increase power to: 1,496 hp

or

Reduce curb weight to: 1,003 lbs (455 kg)

Nissan GT-R

Standard:

power: 545hp 3.8L V6

curb weight: 3,829 lbs (1,737 kg)

With Power-to-Weight Ratio of 1:

Increase power to: 1,737 hp

or

Reduce curb weight to: 1,202 lbs (505 kg)

Lotus Elise

Standard:

power: 134 hp 1.6L I4

curb weight: 1,598 lbs (725 kg)

With Power-to-Weight Ratio of 1:

Increase power to: 725 hp

or

Reduce curb weight to: 295 lbs (134 kg)

Suddenly, that 1:1 power-to-weight ratio seems a bit more outrageous. The brains at Koenigsegg have been innovating their way to speed, but their weight saving techniques may soon find themselves in our everyday cars.

Automakers need to find ways to increase their average mpg ratings, as the ever-increasing CAFE standards rise with time. An easy way to decrease fuel consumption is to cut weight, and with manufacturers research into 3D printing and carbon fiber chassis construction becoming more of a reality everyday, perhaps it's not so far off to envision bench pressing your new Ford Focus after all.